“Punjab is facing the problem of drug addiction and there have been several cases where youths in districts of Haryana close to Punjab have been found to be addicted to drugs,” the BJP minister, whose party is an ally of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab, said.

He said the Haryana government has been taking preventive, curative and educative measures to make people aware of the problem of drugs.

He said as many 84 government hospitals in Haryana will be upgraded so they become compliant with standards prescribed by National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Health care (NABH).

“A survey is in process and all 84 government hospitals in the state will be to NABH level in one go soon,” he said, adding, “37 per cent of the state’s total budget will be spent on upgrading government hospitals”.

However, he admitted that there is an acute shortage of doctors in the state.

The capital expenditure in the health sector will be to the tune of Rs 25 crore soon, he said.